Paramount Skydance agrees to halt Warner Bros. merger until next June

Paramount Skydance agreed to freeze its merger with rival Hollywood studio Warner Bros. Discovery until next June while a federal judge weighs an antitrust lawsuit from a coalition of state attorneys general who sued to block the $110 billion transaction.

In an 11-page court filing Friday, Paramount said it had agreed to hold off on combining with Warner Bros. until June 1, 2027, unless a federal judge issues a ruling on the suit filed by a dozen Democratic state attorneys general.

The agreement lengthens a temporary pause ordered this week by Araceli Martínez-Olguín of the the Northern District of California.

The combination of the two companies would create a modern media colossus. It would unite two historic film studios (Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures), two popular streaming platforms (Paramount+ and HBO Max) and two leading news organizations (CBS News and CNN).